Olympics

US figure skaters will train in Austria ahead of Sochi

Ashley Wagner, Gracie Gold and Polina Edmunds are part of the US Figure Skating team that will train in Austria ahead of Sochi.

Winslow Townson/Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

The U.S. figure skaters will do some of their training for the Sochi Olympics in Austria.

Barbara Reichert, the spokeswoman for U.S. Figure Skating, says the organization secured ice time two years ago at a training facility in Europe ”to allow additional practice time for American athletes to prepare for the Olympic Winter Games. This is a very common practice at the Olympics and is not in response to any security issues.”

The athletes will still practice during their regular time slots in Sochi, with additional skating to be done in Austria. Reichert says this has been done before: At the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, the team trained outside of Utah. Same thing at the 2006 Turin Olympics and four years ago in Vancouver.